: Ubuntu 8.4 problem - 'Grandmaw Linda"

[Mario Vukelic]

On Thu, 2009-01-29 at 17:02 -0500, Linda Webb wrote:
> I did manage to use
> Wine to open my Windowsxp cd and it pulled up the Installation page -
> where it said checking for components. Then it hung up. 

It seems the explanations where insufficient or you misunderstood. You
need to distinguish two different cases:

*** Virtualization ***
This is done with VirtualBox (or other solutions, but VirtualBox is very
well integrated into Ubuntu and is probably the best option for you if
you want to try virtualization).
In virtualization, you indeed install a complete Windows XP into
Virtualbox. Then you can start Windows XP while running Ubuntu. It will
run inside a window just like any regular application. (Virtualbox will
pretend to Windows XP that Ubuntu is not running - Windows XP will think
that it is running directly on the computer hardware, as usual).
You can then install and run the embroidery application inside (the
virtualized) Windows XP.

Advantage:
Any applications that you install in (the virtualized) Windows XP will
actually interact with the real Windows XP (compare this to the Wine
option further down). Therefore, there are no compatibility problems.

Disadvantage:
You are really running two operating systems at the same time, Ubuntu
and Windows. You will therefore need roughly twice as much RAM for good
performance. Windows will also run a bit slower, but it is hardly
noticeable if your computer is not too old.
You also need a valid Windows XP license to legally do this. After all,
you *are* running XP. However, you seem to have a disc anyway, so this
should not be a problem.

More info:
Using Virtualbox in Ubuntu: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VirtualBox

*** Wine ***
Wine is different from virtualization. Wine basically recreates Windows
XP (or rather, those parts of Windows XP that the Windows applications
need to run) on Ubuntu. The important difference is that you do not
install another, real, Windows XP from a CD using Wine - Wine *already*
provides the parts of XP that the Windows programs need to run.
You would simply install your embroidery program directly in Ubuntu -
when Wine is installed it will take care of running it (more information
in the link further down).

Advantage:
The hardware requirements (especially RAM) do not increase, because you
do not run a whole Windows XP.
You do not have to manage an additional complete operating system in
addition to Ubuntu, namely Windows XP. The embroidery program is just
one application, just as any other in Ubuntu.
One does not need a Windows XP license to run Wine.

Disadvantages:
Since Wine *recreates* the important parts of Windows XP, it is
incomplete and has errors. Therefore, applications may or may not work.
There is a database where you can look up applications that work, but no
information might be available about your embroidery program; in this
case you will just have to try it out.

More information:
Using Wine in Ubuntu: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wine
Database about applications that work or not: http://appdb.winehq.org/

Good luck!